On January 10, 2007 President Bush announced a “troop surge.” My stomach dropped.
Since my older brother joined the Marine Corps in 2003, the international actions of the U.S. government have gripped my attention. The War in Afghanistan and the War in Iraq are constant reminders that events taking place thousands of miles away, across an ocean, a continent, a sea and a desert affect my life in the most profound way.
Last fall, three years into the War in Iraq, my younger brother followed our older brother’s lead and joined the military as a Navy Seaman. Soon after he completed basic training, President Bush announced the troop surge of more than 20,000 additional men and women who would be sent to Iraq in the coming months.
My first thoughts on the surge were of my brothers: my two best friends. I hoped that they would be kept out of harm’s way, that somehow they could avoid Iraq. But in hoping for their safety I was also frustrated. They knew things were bad. Why did they join the military during war?
With efforts in Iraq prematurely declared a success upon the December 2003 capture of Saddam Hussein and the number of fatalities rising daily, it's hard to believe that anyone, let alone two smart, talented guys like my brothers, would willingly risk life to participate in a brutal, controversial, seemingly endless war. Photographs, news reports and war footage have painted a clear picture of U.S. military life in Iraq: an existence full of uncertainty, death and longing for home.
Despite my lack of understanding, my brothers along with thousand of others have recently chosen to join the U.S. military. There is no draft, no laws that require anyone to serve and yet they enlist.
What drives a person to join the military, especially during times of war? This question is not rhetorical. With 2.6 million men and women in our active and reserve military, this is an issue that touches the countless who respect and care for those serving in the armed forces.
In an effort to better understand my brothers and those who have recently given up the familiarities of civilian life in exchange for a uniform and temporary address, I have decided to explore military recruitment: the process and the people, namely the recruiters and recruits. Over the course of my posts, I hope to find answers to my questions regarding military recruitment, including: What traits do recruits have that unique compared to other civilians? What is it that drives them to serve? Are all recruits driven by the same motives? How do recruiters do their jobs? Does the War in Iraq deter potential service people? And ultimately, why are recruits joining the military now, when the War in Iraq is taking more and more lives?
Wednesday, February 21, 2007
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3 comments:
Kelly,
I really like this topic. I know several people who have joined the military and have gone to Iraq. This blog is very timely and I hope it gives an inside look on what families go through. It would be great for your next posts to have interviews with your brothers and definitely photos of them in uniform or leaving for training. I think it would be cool also if you were able to talk to a woman who joined the military so we could see a woman's perspective on it. I'd really like to hear the opinions of the war from your brothers and the rest of your family, and whether or not they support it.
This is a topic I am very interested in as well. I can't imagine myself signing up fpr the military at a time when more and more people are getting sent to the front lines. I read a really interesting article about a lieutenant name Ehren Watada who signed up for the military voluntarily and then refused to go when he was deployed to Iraq. What do you think of this? What would your brothers think of this? Also, out of curiosity, how old are your brothers?
I may be victim to having a skewed distribution as far as my friends in the military go, but I'd be very interested to hear interviews with members of the military that have joined recently for reasons other than money for college. I never really got that side of the recruitment process, as most of my friends are doing their best to get out of the military at this point, a couple of them after having already served their first tour in Iraq.
Troop surges are always scary words to hear, especially when coupled with a continuing lack of supplies and perceived overstretch due to our military activities across the globe.
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